The extent of the Barents–Kara ice sheet during the Last Glacial Maximum

Abstract

It has been a long-standing discussion whether the Barents–Kara Ice Sheet expanded onto mainland Russia during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). In this paper, we describe many well-dated (by conventional and AMS 14C methods and optically stimulated luminescence) sedimentary sequences in the controversial area of Northern Russia. The sequences discussed are not covered by till, and yet all predate the LGM. The deposits consist mostly of aeolian or lacustrine, easily deformable soft silt and fine sand. Two sites feature frozen mammoth carcasses and three sites contain Palaeolithic artefacts and mammalian bones. We emphasise that these formations show no sign of having been overridden by an ice sheet. At several sites, deposition of aeolian sediments and formation of ice wedges took place during the LGM time span. These observations present unambiguous proof that the Barents–Kara Ice Sheet did not cover mainland Russia during LGM, with a possible exception for the northern tip of the Taimyr Peninsula.